Tobacco-stemming machine.



J D. GOODWIN.

TOBACCO STEMMING MACHINE.

APPLlCATiON FILED APR. I7. 19x2.

Patented Aug. 7, 1917.

4 SHEET SSHE'ET I.

Ina/672107 JZzmesD. Goodwc m,

1. 0. eooowm. TOBACCO ST EMMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR-17.19M-

Patented Aug. 7,1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

climeaffl Goodw lsii nki - M lk/MM I. D. GOODWIN.

.TOBACCO STEMMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 17. l9l2.

Patented Aug. 7, 1917.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

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Macaw 6 flwu J. D. GOODWIN. TOBACCOSIEMMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 17. I912.

JAMES D. GOODWIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE TOBACCO STEMMTLNG- MACHINE COMPANY, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, A COR- IPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TOBACCO-STEMMING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 17, 1912. Serial No. 691,268.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, James D. GrooDwIN, citizen of the United States, residing at New York, N. Y., have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco- Stemming Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in tobacco stemming machines of the general type in which the tobacco leaves are carried between stripping rolls by means of gripper bars on suitable carriers engaging the stems of the leaves and drawing them between the stripping rolls so that the leaf portions will be stripped from the stem and the rolls will then be cleared of these leaf portions which fall into any suitable receptacle.

The invention consists in the features, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a view of one end of the machine in side elevation, this being the end at which the tobacco leaves are fed into the machine;

Fig. 1. shows the right hand end of the machine in side elevation, this being a continuation of Fig. 1, a part of Fig. 1, however, being also shown in this Fig. 1*;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the stripper rolls and cleaning brushes and associated parts;

Fig. 4 is a side .view of the stripper roll mechanism and clearing brushes and driving connections, this being a side view from that side of the machine opposite to the View of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a detail view relating to an adjustment of the gage board mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1 looking toward the right.

Fig. 7 is a view of the end of-the machine looking from the right of Fig. 1

Fig. 8 is a plan view with parts omitted and parts broken away.

Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are detail views.

The stripping rolls are shown at 1, 2, and these may be card covered rolls, though this cover may be varied to suit difierent condias the upper chains,.and there being a pair of lower chains 5, one at each side of the machine. The gripper-bars extend between these side chains and the spacing of the gripper-bars on the chains and the timing is such that the gripper-bars of the upper chain will cooperate with those of the lower chain, or pairs of chains, to grip the stem of the leaf when properly fed, and carry the same through the stripping rolls so that the card teeth or other suitable covering of the rolls will strip the lead portion from the stem, and this stem will be carried onward and deposited at the right hand end of the machine Fig. 1. The tobacco leaves are fed to be grasped by the gripper-bars of the upper and lower pairs of chains by a moving feed table or belt 6, passing around rollers 7, and over a fixed table 8, the said moving belt being associated with gage-boards 9, arranged thereover but preferably not directly connected therewith, these gageboards being driven substantially in unison with the moving belt by connection with sprocket chains 10, one on each side of the table, these chains passing around sprocket wheels 11, at the ends of the rollers 7, which move the belt 6. The tobacco leaves are placed on the belt 6 and are spread out by the attendant to occupy positions between the gage-boards 9 and with the butt ends of the stems facing toward the'gripper bar chains and as the belt with the gage-board moves toward the right in Fig. 1, the tobacco leaves will be moved in position so that the butt ends of the stems will be grasped between the gripper bars of the upper and lower chains. The gripper-bar chains move continuously and the feed belt lower gripper-bar chain 5, at the right hand 'side ofthe machine, as shown in Figs. 1 6

and 8. The gripper-bar chains moving in the arrow direction w ll bring the pr c tion 17 to contact with the projection 16,

sprocket 12L, will become disengaged from the projection 17, and when this occurs the series of leaves will have been presented to a :pair of gripper-bars of the upper and lower feed chains, the gage-board 9 having 'lowered out of they way by passing around thegroller 'at the right hand end of the "feedt'able, it being understoodthat the timing of the parts is such that as a pair of gripper-bars meet at the front of the machine the tobacco leaves will have been pre-' sented by the movement of the feed belt 6, so as to overhang the roller 7, at the right hand end of the feed table in proper posi- "tion to be grasped by thegripper-bars which engage the leaves close to or at the butt end of the'stems.

I prefer to have the gage-boards moved directly by the sprocket chains rather than have them attached to the feed belt 6, as the distance between the gage-boards is thus "kept constant and "the timing of "the movement of these gage-boards will remain constant 1n relatlon to the movement of the V grippenbars and will not be affected by any stretching orirre ularity in the movement of the'feed belt 6. This feed'belt is driven by the rollers 7,to which movement is im par-ted the sprocket chain before men tioned. The gage-boards enable the attendant to aline the butt end of vthe stems in ,proper position The gripper-bars have at their ends cam shaped portions 18, which, as

the bars pass between the stripper-rolls 1 and 2 act upon disks at the ends of the said stripper-rolls marked 19, so that the rolls 'the stripper-rolls do not interlock but lie with their ends in substantially the same plane intermediate of the rolls. After the stripper-rolls are separated by the passage of the gripper-bars they come together again v by the pressure of the spring mountings and this-approach of the stripper-rolls is gradual and iscontrolled by the inclines of the cam shaped portions of "the gripper-bars, the arrangement being such that the teeth of the s'tripper-rolls"will engage the leaf directly at the'trailing edge of theigripper-bars, and thus no .portion'ofthe leaf will be left unf's'trip pe d from "the stem. The upper strip- ,ping roll is preferably mounted in a box 21,

one on'each side 'of the machine, and movable vertically in the frame 22, any suitable form of spring 23 and adjusting means '24 being employed to press this box wlth the roll downwardly. The lower stripperroll may be also mounted in amovable box,

as shown in Fig. 9 which is carried by an armor spring 25, which is pressed upwardly by a spring 26, held adjustably by a nut 27 on a hanger 28. The lower stripping-roll is driven by a sprocket wheel 29 thereon, which is driven from a sprocket wheel 30 on a stub shaft 31 by a chain 32. The sprocket wheel 30 is drivenfromagear 33 having teeth and locking portions 34:, and this gear is driven from a m'utilated "gear 35, which also has teeth and a locking portion so that an intermittent movement is imparted to the chain 32, and to the lower stripper-roll, and as this lower stripperroll is geared 'to the upper stripper-roll by the long toothed gears 36 and3-7, the'strip- .per-rolls will be driven in unison. The timing of the driving mechanism is such, however, that while the leaf 'is b'eing drawn through the stripper-rolls they will be held v locked against movement because the looking surfacesof the gears 33 and 35 will then be 1n engagement wlth each other, but

after the leaf has been stripped from the:

stem, the stripper-rolls are given a clearing movement by the 'intermeshlng teeth of the gears 33 and 35, the chain 32 'andlthe long toothed gears, above mentioned, so that chine. In order to hold the stripper-rolls firmly against rotation while the, stem is being drawn through them, I prefer to em- ,ploy a supplemental locking device con-- sisting of a ratchet wheel 38 on the shaft of the upper stripper-roll which is engaged I by a pawl39 pivoted to the frame and adapted to hold the roll against turning in the: same direction with the onward moving stem, the ratchet however, havingits teeth so formed that it will turn under'the pawl freely for the clearing rotary movement of the stripper-rolls, it being understood "that in this clearing movement the rolls 'move in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 3. In order to allow the stripping rolls to separate,

the pawl 39 is thrown out of engagement with the ratchet wheel when the gripperbar passes between the rolls, and for-this "purpose the pawl 39 has a "tail piece in the j path of the studs or projections 1-7 of the lower gripper chain. These studs willdift the pawl for permitting upward movement of the upper stripper roller, but'as soon as the gripper bar has passed through and the rolls return to stripping position the pawl 39 will have been released to reen'gage the ratchet 38 'and thus hold the stripper-roll against following the movement of the gripper-bar as it might do were this pawl "not provided. Such action might be due to slight lost motion in the links of the chain 32 or other driving parts, and should the stripper-rolls rotate so that their adjacent peripheries would move in the same direction with the stem being pulled through,

' some of the leaf would not be stripped because stripping would not take place until the carding teeth are held against moving onward with the gripper bars and stem.

For clearing the stripper-rolls effectually I provide brushes 40 and 41, the upper brush being in front of the upper stripper-roll and the lower brush 41 being in rear of the lower stripper-roll, and these brushes rotate in the arrow directions Fig. 3. They serve to take off from the stripper-rolls any leaf portions that may adhere thereto. They are driven from the sprocket chain 42, engaging sprocket wheels 43, 44, on the shaft of the brush rolls and around an idler 45, as shown in Fig. 4. The chain 42 is driven by a sprocket wheel 46, which in turn is driven by a sprocket wheel 47, on its shaft, the latter being driven from the lower reach of the lower gripper-bar chain, as shown in Fig. 4. In order to assist in the clearing action of the stripper-brush I may employ a comb 48 fixed to an arm 49 carried by a spring support 50, and this spring support has a stud 51 resting upon a serrated portion or member 52 carried by the shaft of the stripper-roll so that the clearer comb 48 will be agitated, and as this comb enters the teeth of the stripper-roll it will act to clear any leaf portions from the said teeth, it being understood that the stripper-roll is in rotation at the same time that the comb is agitated. A similar comb arrangement may be employed for the lower stripping roll. The gripper-bar chains are directed around sprocket wheels 4, 5, at opposite ends of the machine, and for driving these chains power is applied to the pulley 58, on a shaft 54, journaled in the frameand having a gear 55, meshing with a gear 56, on the shaft 57, which carries the sprockets 4, at the right hand end of the machine Fig. l and the lower sprocket chain is driven by a gear 58, meshing with the gear 56, and carried by a shaft 59 of the sprockets 5, at the right of the lower gripperbar chain 5. This shaft 59 also has a small sprocket thereon, 60, which drives the chain 61, which in turn drives the sprocket 62, from which the mutilated gear 35 derives its motion. Various adjustments may be made throughout the driving connections, such for instance, as adjusting the gripper-chains relatively to each other so that the gripper-bars can be made to aline with accuracy, and as a means for suchv adjustment, the sprocket of the gripper-bar chains may be connected by a pin and slot connection such as shown at 63, Fig l*, with suitable blocks or disksfixed to the shaft 57 and like adjustments may be made at the other sprockets, and this is true of the driving connections of the gageboards of the feeding belt, such adjustment being represented generally in Fig. 5.

Instead of employing stripper-rolls with carding teeth, I may employ a roll having a rubber surface with rubber projections thereon, such as shown in Fig. 10. I may also provide yielding material between the shaft of the stripping roll and the member which carries the carding teeth or other stripping surface so that this roll may yield at different points along its length in order to take care of different thicknesses of stem, or other irregularities in the material fed to the stripping rolls.

I claim as my invention 1. In a tobacco stemming machine and in combination, stripper rolls, gripper bars, carriers for the gripper bars, feeding means for feeding the leaves into position for engagement by said bars, said means including gage bars for positioning the leaves on the feeding means, and means for moving the gage bars and gripper bars interdependently.

2. In a tobacco stemming machine and in combination, stripper rolls, gripper bars,

carriers for the latter, gage bars for pos1 tioning the leaves on the feeding means, and means for moving the gripping bars continuously and gage bars intermittently and the two sets of bars interdependently.

3. In a tobacco stemming machine and in combination, stripper rolls, gripper bars, carriers for the same, and means for feeding the leaves into position for engagement by the gripper bars, said means including two movable parts having their leaf engaging surfaces disposed perpendicularly to each other.

4. In a tobacco stemming machine and in combination, stripper rolls, gripper bars,

carriers for the same, and means for feeding the leaves into position for engagement by the gripper bars, said means including two movable parts having their leaf engaging surfaces disposed perpendicularly to each other, said parts being independently supported, driven at substantially the same, speed and adapted to shift relatively to each other.

5. In combination stripper rolls, gripper bars, carriers therefor, an endless feed belt, gage bars moving with the feed belt, sprocket chains to which the gage bars are connected, and rolls driven by the sprocket chains over which the feed belt passes, said gage bars being independent of the feed belt and having no direct connection therewith, substantially as described.

6. In combination stripper rolls, gripper bars to carry the leaves between the stripper rolls, endless chains carrying the gripper bars, feeding means including an endless -.carr1er and gage bars, sa d gripper barshavingacontinnous. movement and said gage bars and .their carrier having intermittent movement to present the leaves to the gripper bars and then rest While the gripper bars grasp the stems,- substantially as described.

17 In combination stripper rolls, gripper bars with endless .carriers for the gripper bars moving continuously, feed means including gage boards and endlesszcarrier .means.-therefor, and means for ,drlving the -=feedmg means ntermlttingly from the continuously moving carriers of the gripper bars, substantially as described.

:8. In combination stripper .rolls, gripper bars for the leaves, feeding means vfor .the leaves consisting of endless carrier :means, a dBlV1I1xChEL1H for-the feeding means, and

studs carried by one of the gripping .bar carriers and the drive chain ,respectively,

said= studs moving into and. out \of' line with each othercautomatically to secure. the intermittent movement of .the feed device, substantially as described.

-9.- .111 combination with stripper rolls, driving mechanism therefor to give an initermittent movement to said rolls, -;gripper bars .for carrying the leaves between the -.rolls,-c-arriers for said gripper bars, and a locking device independent of the driving -,mechanism for locking .the stripper rolls positively against movement-to follow the onward movement-of the gripper bars as :the :stem .is being drawn between the strip- 'per rolls substantially. as described.

10. In combination stripper rolls,,gripper locking means independent of the said 1 means '-for-.holding--.the stripper rolls against rotation independent of their 7 driving connections while the stem is being drawn a through, .but acting automatically to allow the stripper rolls to have their clearing movement substantially .-as described.

v 11. In atobacco stripping machine :and

in combination, stripper rolls, gripper bars, carriers for the gripper bars, means .-for driving the stripper rOlls iin a direction -reverse to the movement of the tobacco leaves 4 duringone periodof the; movement of the gripper'bars, and for holding the stripper rolls ssubstantially against .movement while the leaves are being drawn between the stripper :rolls, and ;a supplemental locking member independent of the roll rotating means for holding theirolls, during the passageth'erebetween of the tobacco? leaves.

12. In .axtobacco stemming-machine and in I combination, stripper ';rolls,.; gripper bars,

carriers ithBI'BfOI, means for separating the .1'0115 to permitthe passage .of the bars-between the same, means fordrivingzthe strip- ,per rollsin a direction reverse to the moveinentofsthe leaves and for;holding the rolls ,during the period the 'leaves are passing -therebetween, 4 and a locking member coope,rating with the .rolls during the passage of ,the leaves between theisame for holding the rolls againstrotation, said-locking member .being greleased automatically to permit of the separation of the v stripping"rollers aforesaid.

1-13. In a tobacco stemming machine and in re ombination, stripping -rolls provided with ,peripheral teethhmeans for carrying tobacco leaves .between the rolls,.a comb cooperating .with one .of .the rolls, and means .for vibrating the comb while intermeshed withthe teeth .of theroll.

.145. In a tobacco stripping ,machine .and in combination, .strippng rolls havingteeth, .means for carrying the tobacco leaves there between,. means for givingthe rolls .a clearing-movement, a comb cooperating with one (of the rolls, andmeans lfor bodily vibrating .the .comb during said clearing movement while iintermeshed with the teeth of the ,ro-ll.

.15. .In .atobaccostripping machine and in combination, stripper rolls having teeth, --means for.carrying the'leaves to be stripped .therebetween, a comb cooperating with one .;of the .rolls, a ,yieldable support for the .comb, and means for vibrating the support while the comb is intermeshed'with the ,roll teeth.

-;l6. .Ina tobacco stripping machine and ;in' combination, stripper rolls, one of the rolls beingprovided with peripheral teeth, .a rotating .clearer member mounted fadjaacent said roll and cooperating withthe teeth of thecsame, .comb'cooperating ,with the teeth. of the .roll along a line contiguous to thedine of engagement of the clearer member,.and means for vibratingthecomb. V

. 1 7. .A tobacco leaf stemming machine, com- ,ingi a rubber stripping suriace co-acting therewith.

18. Inatobacco stemmingmachine and in combination, :means for advancing the leavesgto v.be stripped, and companion strip- ,ping :rolls one of which .is .providedywith rubber peripheral projections.

19. Ina tobacco stemming machine v.and in combination, means for advancing the leavesto be stripped, and companion stripping rollsone of which is provided with a rubber surface andspaced apart peripheral projections. I

20. In combinationupper, and low'er strip per .;rolls, gripper, bars, endless carriers for thesrippe ha e, l 3ll Q s p a n e;

l 1 0 prising upper ..and lower. stripping members,

stripper rolls for the passage of the bars, clearing brushes for the stripper rolls, means for driving the same and means for driving the stripper rolls intermittingly consisting of the mutilated gearing having driving and locking portions, substantially as described.

21. In combination upper and lower stripper rolls, gripper bars, endless carriers for the gripper bars, means for separating the stripper rolls for the passage of the bars, clearing brushes for the stripper rolls, means for driving the same, and means for Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signa- 2o ture in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES D. GOODWIN.

Witnesses:

JAcKsoN BRANDT, F. J. BHJLINGS.

Washington, D. G, 

